I expected a longer travel time to Shercon Resort & Ecology Park from the heart of Manila, so I was…read morepleasantly surprised when our bus rolled into its gates after a little more than two hours. But while the trip was convenient, the stay was not very much so as it does require a bit of walking from the function halls to the rooms to the pools and to the teambuilding areas. For families or small groups, bringing your own van might be best. Still, the forced exercise (we probably needed it anyway) was worth it, given the accommodations we received. It was no small feat, considering there were almost 200 of us for our office teambuilding, but we felt well cared for. Food was delicious and abundant, the staff were friendly and accommodating (they even went the extra mile to assist us when one of our members got sick), and the facilities were well-maintained. For the swimming addicts like me, you'll love that this resort has six (!) pools, so there's definitely no overcrowding at the pool. But the best part of our stay were the teambuilding activities they facilitated for us. We got to experience ziplining, wall climbing, rappelling, and games, which definitely boosted our group spirit. All these great experiences and extraordinary service, for suprisingly friendly rates. I will definitely be coming back. Winner!

This place was beautiful and loved all the activities offered but my only gripe is that it wasn't…read moreclose to the beach so it was pretty hot when we went there. We only did the day tour and didn't stay overnight. You can order prepared food there or bring your own to cook at their BBQ grills. We didn't reserve til the day before so we couldn't get a kubo but was able to have a shared covered area with tables and chairs. They had bathrooms with showers and a sink area to wash dishes. But as usual, bring your own toilet paper and soap. My family did the zip lining, repelling and rock climbing. They said they loved it. We used the pools which were an awesome site. We really liked the maze, too.

My family and I had a lovely time here at the Villa Escudero Plantation and Museum during a recent…read morevisit. My parents used to take me here on trips to the Philippines when I was a kid. Revisiting as an adult felt familiar and although there were significant upgrades to the property since my last visit, it still gives off that warm welcome home vibe. For newbies Villa Escudero is the Disney World equivalent for immersion into the Filipino culture. We started off at the Visitor's center where we purchased our day trip tickets. I believe the tickets are about $2000.00 PHP = $35 USD. The ticket cost includes 90% of what is offered in the plantation which includes the museum, Carabao (Water Buffalo) cart rides, E-jeepneys, swimming in their pools, bamboo raft rides, buffet lunch and cultural show. Alcoholic drinks, some non-alcoholic specialty drinks and on-site accommodations are not included in the cost of the day trip tickets. These are considered separate fees. We were a party of 7 with 2 sets of elderly parents with mobility issues. Thankfully the staff at Villa Escudero were well equipped to handle transporting our parents from one part of the facility to another via E-jeepney (electric jeepney). The E-jeepney was a newly added service allowing one to travel comfortably enough to visit most of the sites without much effort. Our parents were able to visit the pink museum on the 1st floor holding mostly religious statues. The statues are realistic to the point of near creepy. The museum has no elevator access to the 2nd floor where the more interesting artifacts are. Unfortunately, the lack of an elevator limited our parents to the 1st floor. My cousin, husband and I opted to take the stairs to the 2nd floor to explore some more while leaving the parents in the waiting area on the 1st floor. The 2nd floor is an impressive collection curated by the Escudero family with period pieces from all over the globe. I won't go into too much detail for spoiler reasons but we found the 2nd floor fascinating from the first. Please keep in mind photography and video is restricted only in the museum portion. Post museum we were E-jeeped back to the visitor's center to hop on their Carabao carts taking us to their grand Main Pavilion for their lunch and cultural show. The Carabao Cart ride was one of the most enjoyable parts of our visit making it memorable for all. The short 12-minute ride transported us through the palm tree lined, lush plantation grounds. The ride included an onboard serenade with a singer and a guitarist playing folkloric tunes. The scene, with sunny picture-perfect weather to boot, was heartening and provides you with a taste of traditional Filipino culture. It definitely brought a smile to my mom and dad's face. In that fleeting moment, I felt as if they were truly happy at home. As all this is happening, seeing them light up in awe as we were passing through the grounds via Carabao cart was priceless. Once at the covered pavilion, you can pick any available table to sit in and have a set buffet lunch served to you. The buffet was ample and tasty complete with typical Filipino dishes such as Pancit, Chicken, Beef Caldereta, Fried Fish, a number of stir-fried vegetable dishes with a Banana-Q dessert finisher to round out the meal. After lunch, the cultural show starts roughly at 3pm and goes till about 5. The show was amazing and included traditional music and dance from regions all over the Philippines. At the end of the performance, my husband and I were gifted a small palm frond keepsake shaped in the likeness of a bird. It was a simple yet sweet parting gift by the performers of the show. The property also has a separate venue for private events and if you are seeking a unique wedding venue, they have a simple chapel and reception space available. Whether tourist or a local, Villa Escudero is a lovely place to visit. They offer on-site hotel accommodations if you're looking to extend your time with family and friends. The hotels are private villas overlooking the river. The average nightly stay is about 14000.00 PHP which is about $240 USD/night typically accommodating anywhere from 2-6 guests depending on room size. The accommodations are rustic and in line with the plantation theme. We enjoyed our time at Villa Escudero. We've always had fond memories visiting the plantation. If you've never been to the Philippines before, this would be the perfect place to start outside of Metro Manila. If you can reciprocate kindness and respect, the people here are super friendly and will go out of their way to make your stay at Villa Escudero a pleasant one. Foreigner friendly, most staff are English speaking and can help you navigate through the property. Enjoy your time in the Philippines and make Villa Escudero part of your visitor itinerary to immerse yourself in the warm Filipino culture. Safe travels and Mabuhay Pilipinas!

Youtube Video on my experience: https://youtu.be/ntKNPeL4ULY…read more WOW. I am truly blown away at this place. I have been wanting to come here for years and years since I had seen a photo of the waterfalls restaurant. I thought that the restaurant was a separate entity and not part of an entire plantation that was turned into a resort for Filipino culture and heritage. I am so surprised at the tiny sign to enter Villa Escudero as well, is that the original sign? I feel like it has to be. The is a long stretch of dirt road leading into Villa Escudero, but it is cool to see all the coconut trees and other fruit/vegetables growing along the road with the carabao just hanging out. After checking in, the experience just to get to the lobby for room reception (if you are staying overnight) is fun because you can ride a carabao (or electric cart if you prefer). You also get sang to on the carabao. I would have put 4 stars for our room stay because our longhouse room didn't have the mixer of cold and hot water working properly, but after my auntie's upgrade to a riverside cottage with a/c, I was amazed at how beautiful and relaxing it was. We also were surprised with a harana one night and they sang a few songs to us, it was very beautiful. Somebody please tell those guys who harana at Villa Escudero that it was such an amazing experience for me and I'm glad I was able to dance with my son while listening. It was extremely beautiful. The waterfalls restaurant at Labasin was very cool, but because I had my little one we were careful and sat on the dry side right by the waterfall. Maybe next time when he's old we can eat in the water! The food was pretty good as well, I enjoyed the okra! My favorite was the breakfast buffet that they offered and the people working there were SO helpful and kind. The museums are crazy!!! The museum holding all the religious artifacts and museum of animals is so incredibly interesting. The house museum is also very cool to walk around and look at. Each location has a docent to explain the museum if you would like a tour as well. From beginning to end, I had a wonderful time and it was a surreal experience for me. As a Filipino-American, I have felt disconnected from my heritage growing up in the U.S. so I feel like staying here was very important. Thank you Villa Escudero, I hope to come back again!

Best customer service Best food service and quality…read more Cleanliness of the facility Feel secure and safe

I'm giving Malarayat a 5 because it is definitely a good place to go to if you want to unwind and…read morebe away from the hustles of the city. Malarayat is first and foremost a golf club so if you like that, you'd find this venue perfect. It's also very quiet making it a great place to consider for a solo or family retreat. Rooms at Malarayat are spacious. It's complete with wall-mounted TV, a desk, a closet, and in the room I booked, a bath tub! Toiletries are already included in the package so you don't have to worry about that. They also have clean-smelling towels and a bathrobe. Within the venue, you'll have access to two swimming pools. You can also go fishing in the man-made lake if that's up your alley. The food they serve are rather fancy but not that great-tasting. You can always go check out restaurants outside Malarayat but you'll have to take a trike. Room rates are kinda pricey (around php3000-4500) per night but it's worth it especially if you'd like to have some alone, quiet time by yourself. I'd definitely recommend it. It's just a few hours away from Metro Manila. Best to bring a car so you can check out the area without worrying about going back to your hotel room after.

Batangas country club is a beautiful venue in the province. Large well kept landscaped gardens…read morebehind well secured gates. We came in for dinner with no reservations (reservations definitely recommend) and they were almost at capacity. They limit the amount of patrons to 150 on order to provide a pleasurable eating environment. Luckily one of my relatives had some pull and got us a beautiful table in the middle of the gardens. It was a buffet style dinner with a great selection of food. They had had several different cooking stations as well as buffet offering under the rotunda. I enjoyed everything there but nothing really stood out to be honest. It was a nice experience and would definitely come back again.

This place is just unbelievable. I don't know where to begin. First, I was very blessed and…read morefortunate to be able to travel to the Philippines for a momentous occasion...one of my best Friend's birthday. As we approached the gate, we were welcomed with hospitality that I've not quite seen before. The smiles were genuine..and the eagerness to serve...wow! The rooms are nice and spacious and the pools...breathtaking. The grounds are lush and so inviting that I found myself walking through the grass barefooted. Now the party...everything was so beautiful and tastefully done. The food reminded me of a fabulous restaurant back in Los Angeles. Everyone was kind and I just couldn't believe how genuine the mannerisms were. Michelle and Vincent were very attentive to our every need during breakfast. And how can I forget Jhie? She was Amazing!!! Her compassion was seen throughout the evening. To say that this was a very very special place is an understatement. If you ever get an opportunity to travel to Manila, Makati, Batangles...please go. And by all means please stop by the Batangles Country Club. It's a place that you will want to return to year after year after year.

Having late lunch here with family…read more We ordered Biitter Melon with beef (Ampalaya con Carne), Pork Sisig, Milkfish Belly (Bangus Belly) Sisig, Pata Tim (Chinese Pork with Gravy), Beef Bone Marrow (Bulalo) Soup and Corn Soup. The beef loin is sliced and soft and the bitter melon is sliced and juicy. Taste great. Pork Sisig with egg is sizzling hot and taste good. The milkfish belly Sisig is delicious. The pork hock with sauce gravy (Pata Tim) and veggies is well mixed. The meat is soft and delicious Beef bone marrow soup is hot and the meat is soft and moist. Taste so good. The corn soup is delicious, too. Serving Staff are courteous. Moderately priced and average servings. Clean separate Men and Women's bathroom.

AMBIENCE We decided to segue from the main road and find a…read morenew place to try. So we pulled up Google Maps for the closest pin to the most decent place, and behold, we found Old San Juan Hotel & Restaurant. Dine-in area was a wide and beautiful Spanish-style house on the second floor. We could occasionally smell the wood and tried knocking on some of the pillars and sliding windows. Everything was legit and those varnished surfaces were pretty sturdy! No wheelchair access was apparent but the stairs weren't that steep either. A piano, guitar and white capiz lighting added interesting touches to the overall look. A flat-screen TV was available. First challenge was the mosquitoes and if we turned on the electric fans, it was too cold for us and the food. If fans were off, second challenge was getting bitten. FOOD I'll jump straight to it. EXCELLENT! Ginataang Hipon was thick, creamy, tasty and served generously. It's good for two and we didn't need to order anything else. But of course, we had to try one more. Lechon Kawali was super good too! Skin was very crunchy like freshly popped chicharon (fried pork skins) and the meat was so tender I could easily cut with one utensil. Sauce wasn't even necessary! SERVICE We were welcomed by smiles and warm greetings. One of our servers helped us park properly. This isn't a common observation but I noticed another server smelled really good! No effort needed to take notice. Wait time was reasonable and we relaxed by appreciating the place and taking photos.

75 miles from the International airport, this can be a long drive in Manila's traffic. Once you get…read morethere though it felt like a real slice of hidden paradise. We were greeted by really courteous staff. From the security guard, front desk to the room attendants, it was great customer service. Three meals a day were provided and it was a feast. Usually 4 dishes plus the mandatory rice for each meal was more than enough for us. Which says a lot after a whole day of swimming in the ocean. WIFI was free and reliable around the resort. 2 hours of kayaking came free with our package as well. Accommodations were separate cottages having 1-2 rooms.The rooms were spotless and offered a very nice view of the ocean. There was AC but with the configuration of the windows along with the multitude of trees in the location, you could just leave the windows open and really enjoy the cool ocean breeze. The rest room was shared per cottage but it was well maintained and clean as well. Massages were available in-room. I personally did not avail of it but my sister did and seemed to enjoy it. The beach was clean and the water was very clear and warm. Perfect for swimming any time of the day. Overall, if you want to go to a great beach with modern facilities, it is well worth the road trip.